Jimmy Napes

Last updated

Jimmy Napes
Birth nameJames Napier
Born (1984-09-18) 18 September 1984 (age 38)
London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
  • singer
Years active2012–present
Labels Method

James Napier (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Jimmy Napes, is an English songwriter and record producer. He has won a number of awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, 3 Grammy Awards, and 2 Ivor Novello Awards. Napes is best known for his work with Sam Smith ("Stay with Me", "Writing's on the Wall", "Lay Me Down", "Too Good at Goodbyes", "Dancing with a Stranger"), Disclosure ("Latch", "You & Me", "White Noise", "Magnets"), Clean Bandit ("Rather Be")‚ Stormzy ("Crown") and Taylor Swift ("Christmas Tree Farm"). Napes also has songwriting and producer credits with artists including Alicia Keys, Jess Glynne, Khalid, Normani, Kano, Dave, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, Mary J. Blige, Madonna, James Bay and more. [1]

Contents

Life

The son of John Napier, a British theatre designer, and Donna King, an American dancer and actress, Napes grew up in England. [2] From the age of eleven he went to University College School in Hampstead.

In 2010, he worked with Eliza Doolittle on her album of the same name. Since then, he has written for (and co-written with) several other artists, including Disclosure, Sam Smith, Clean Bandit and Mary J. Blige. [3] In 2015, he earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for his work on Smith's "Stay with Me", co-written with Smith and Tourist. [4] In the same year, Napes also won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song for co-writing Clean Bandit's "Rather Be".

Napes released his debut EP as a singer, The Making of Me, on Method Records in March 2015. [5] For co-writing "Writing's on the Wall" with Sam Smith, Napes won the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Napes has a son, born in 2015. Sam Smith is a godparent to Napes' son. [6]

Discography

Extended plays

Songwriting and production credits

YearArtistSongAlbum
2010 Eliza "So High" Eliza Doolittle
2012 Disclosure "Latch" feat. Sam Smith Settle
2013Disclosure"Voices" feat. Sasha Keable
"White Noise" feat. AlunaGeorge
"You & Me" feat. Eliza Doolittle
"Together" with Sam Smith and Nile Rodgers
Sam Smith "Nirvana" Nirvana EP
"Lay Me Down"
Jessie Ware "Imagine It Was Us" Devotion
Naughty Boy "La La La" feat. Sam Smith Hotel Cabana
Clean Bandit "Dust Clears" feat. Noonie Bao New Eyes
2014 Clean Bandit "Rather Be" feat. Jess Glynne
"Extraordinary" feat. Sharna Bass
Tourist "I Can't Keep Up" feat. Will Heard Patterns EP
Sam Smith "Stay with Me" In the Lonely Hour
"Leave Your Lover"
"I'm Not the Only One"
"I've Told You Now"
"Like I Can"
"Lay Me Down" (re-release)
"Restart"
"Latch"
"Make It to Me"
Gorgon City "Unmissable" feat. Zak Abel Sirens
Ella Henderson "Billie Holliday" Chapter One
Jessie Ware "Pieces" Tough Love
"The Way We Are"
Mary J. Blige "Therapy" The London Sessions
"Right Now"
"Not Loving You"
"When You're Gone"
"Nobody But You"
"Worth My Time"
Mary J. Blige

&

Disclosure

"Follow"
Madeon "You're On" feat. Kyan Adventure
2015Chasing Grace"Lost Time"Nowhere Near Old Enough
Madonna "Best Night" Rebel Heart
Disclosure "Holding On" feat. Gregory Porter Caracal
"Omen" feat. Sam Smith
"Jaded"
"Willing and Able" feat. Kwabs
"Hourglass" feat. Lion Babe
"Magnets" feat. Lorde
"Nocturnal" feat. The Weeknd
"Good Intentions" feat. Miguel
"Superego" feat. Nao
"Echoes"
"Masterpiece" feat. Jordan Rakei
"Molecules"
"Moving Mountains" feat. Brendan Reilly
"Afterthought"
Låpsley "Hurt Me" Long Way Home
Kwabs "Cheating on Me" Love + War
Ellie Goulding "Heal" Delirium
Sam Smith "Writing's on the Wall" Spectre OST
"Drowning Shadows" In the Lonely Hour: Drowning Shadows Edition
"Love Is a Losing Game"
"How Will I Know"
"Omen"
"Stay with Me" (Darkchild Remix) feat. Mary J. Blige
"I'm Not the Only One" feat. ASAP Rocky
"Lay Me Down" feat. John Legend
2016 Alicia Keys "Hallelujah" Here
Dillon Francis "Anywhere" feat. Will Heard Non-album single
Liv Dawson "Reflection"Open Your Eyes EP
2017 Liv Dawson "Searching"Non-album single
Isaac Gracie "Reverie"Isaac Gracie
Frances "Cloud 9" Things I've Never Said
"It Isn't Like You"
Ardyn"Together"Bloom EP
"Throwing Stones"
Ray BLK "Doing Me"Non-album single
Tourist "We Stayed Up All Night" feat. ArdynWash EP
Sam Smith "Too Good at Goodbyes" The Thrill of It All
"Pray" solo / feat. Logic
"Burning"
"Say It First"
"One Last Song"
"Midnight Train"
"Baby, You Make Me Crazy"
"No Peace" feat. Yebba
"Nothing Left for You"
"The Thrill of It All"
"One Day at a Time"
Liv Dawson "Hush"Non-album single
"Last Time"
2018 Albin Lee Meldau "Before & After"About You
Isaac Gracie "Telescope"Isaac Gracie
James Bay "I Found You" Electric Light
Paul the PSM"Lord Give Me Strength"Secret Life of a Bad Man EP
Lily Moore"I Know I Wanna Be with You"I Will Never Be EP
Rita Ora "Velvet Rope" Phoenix
2019 Sam Smith

&

Normani

"Dancing with a Stranger" Love Goes
Mae Muller "Anticlimax"Non-album single
Avicii "Freak" TIM
Stormzy "Crown" Heavy Is the Head
Icona Pop "Next Mistake"Non-album single
Mabel "I Belong to Me" High Expectations
Tori Kelly "Change Your Mind" Inspired by True Events
"Sorry Would Go a Long Way"
"Language"
"Coffee"
"8/28/1997"
"Kid I Used to Know"
"Pretty Fades"
"3/2/1991"
"Actress"
"Until I Think of You"
"3/26/1994"
"Your Words"
"Before the Dawn"
"Until Forever"
"Minute to Myself"
Kano "Got My Brandy, Got My Beats" feat. Lil Silva Hoodies All Summer
"SYM"
Mae Muller "Dick"Non-album single
Celine Dion "For the Lover That I Lost" Courage
Taylor Swift "Christmas Tree Farm"Non-album single
2020 Khalid

&

Disclosure

"Know Your Worth" Energy
Sam Smith "To Die For" Love Goes
Mae Muller "I Don't Want Your Money"Non-album single
Sam Smith "My Oasis" feat. Burna Boy Love Goes
Alicia Keys "3 Hour Drive" feat. Sampha Alicia
"Gramercy Park"
Sam Smith "For the Lover That I Lost" Love Goes
"Breaking Hearts"
"Forgive Myself"

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References

  1. ↑ Cliff, Aimee (29 October 2014). "Meet The Singer Who's Secretly Behind The UK's American Pop Takeover". The Fader. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Donna King biography at donnakingdame.com, accessed 7 April 2018
  3. ↑ "SESAC's James Napier Named Billboard's No.1 Writer". SESAC. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Jonze, Tim (8 February 2015). "Grammys 2015 – Sam Smith's Stay With Me wins song of the year". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Jimmy Napes shares title track from debut EP". DIY . Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Smith, Sam (15 March 2015). "Instagram". Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
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